Bert Wank

About Bert Wank

Power conversion is my passion. Economic, reliable, and sustainable energy is my vision of the future. There is no \"Planet B\", and energy is a fundamental cost driver and multiplicator for the acquisition, value-added transformation, and distribution of all products and services. Since my early days I have been fascinated with power converters, amplifiers, and why they fail. This red line follows my career, from writing my diploma thesis of life-testing of electrical components, to predicting and mitigating power electronic failures at infiniRel, a venture I started with infinite reliability as its ultimate goal. Defining and launching 14 power and battery management product lines as for companies, two of which were acquired for over 10 billion Dollars collectively, gave me the foundation as a product development leader, with a track record of defining profitable product roadmaps- from milli-Watts (mW) in wearables to Mega-Watts (MW) in renewable energy power plants- from portable power in consumer electronics to resilient, renewable energy solutions for micro-grids.In my prior roles as product manager, strategic marketing and systems engineer for analog and power semiconductors, I have Generated $100-M in first 3-yr. revenue by market analysis and market timing Launched 14 power and battery management product lines by leveraging a core-spin strategy Co-architected 3, and licensed 4, Analog/Digital Signal Processing reference designs Received 9 out of 10 “Mach-1” awards a Texas Instruments for achieving rapid product sales ramps Technical Competencies Solar photovoltaic systems, inverters, remote monitoring and predictive analytics Battery Energy Storage Systems and flywheels Embedded Real-Time Control Systems Analog and power semiconductors (CMOS and DMOS from 1.2V to 1,200V) Fault-tolerant design, ISO26262, Functional Safety for automotive systems Real-time lifecycle testing of electrical component (thesis)Business Competencies Product and business strategy Pitch delivery and presentations from the shop floor to the Board room Cross-cultural training, international business negotiation and licensing Financial business modelingDuring my career I also had the privilege to serve companies that created over $10-Bn. in acquisition value serve as external director on the Board of Directors of a U.S-based capacitor manufacturer serve as Expert Witness for an asserted patent infringement regarding battery chargers.Fun fact: I also served as ROTC in the German NAVY and spent one full week on a submarine.

Experience

1. Founder

   Infinirel Corporation

   Jul 2009 — Present · San Jose, CA, US

   Technology developer for clean-tech energy systems and power conversion solutions: a) conceptionalized economic mass-customization of Hybrid-Electric Propulsion for cargo drones and air-taxis.b) inventor of the GyroVerter, an inverter-less electrical machine designed as a compact power buffer/converter for Electric Vehicles, eVTOL, micro-turbines and micro-grids.c) inventor of a patented Inverter HealthScanner to assess operational risks in critical power electronics systems, such as PV solar inverters and motor drive inverters.Explored collaboration with India-based entrepreneurs for frugal prototyping and entry into the India market. Part of a larger group of companies that addressed the development of rural communities in India, Africa, and other remote areas, that would benefit from cleaner, fault-tolerant, and affordable energy access for tele-medicine services.

Education

• Thunderbird School of Global Management

  MBA, International Management

  1999 — 2001

• Berufsakademie Lörrach

  BSEE, Control Systems Engineering

  1989 — 1992

Skills

• Semiconductor Industry
• Energy
• Testing
• Product Management
• Executive Management
• Strategic Partnerships
• Business Planning
• Solar Energy
• International Business
• Engineering Management
• Electric Vehicles
• Strategy
• Competitive Analysis
• Start-Ups
• Power Management
• Alternative Energy
• Business Strategy
• Wind
• Power Electronics
• Engineering
• Renewable Energy
• Electronics
• Mergers & Acquisitions
• Analog
• Wireless
• Telecommunications
• Product Development
• Solar
• Embedded Systems
• Power Supplies
• Photovoltaics
• Cross-Functional Team Leadership
• Digital Signal Processors
• Marketing Strategy
• Cleantech
• Intellectual Property
• Smart Grid
• Semiconductors
• Leadership
• Cmos